


America

by Anteros



Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-19
Updated: 2010-10-19
Packaged: 2017-10-26 13:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/283597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anteros/pseuds/Anteros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Following Sea Seven Deadly Sins Challenge.<br/>Sin: Sloth<br/>Hornblower is curious about a book that Archie is reading.</p>
            </blockquote>





	America

  


  
Although he professed experience of an impressive variety of sins, both mortal and venial, nobody could ever accuse Archie Kennedy of sloth. He was quick and agile as a monkey and he didn't have to be told twice. _Justinian_ may not have been the tightest ship, but Archie had learned the hard way not to hang around when orders were issued, regardless of who was delivering the command. Even on the _Indefatigable_ , Horatio had noticed that Archie seemed to have retained the uncanny ability to be in exactly the right place doing exactly the right thing a split second before the command was out of the lieutenant's mouth. Horatio was no slouch himself, he had left his clumsy coltishness behind on Justinian and had grown into an intelligent and resourceful seaman, but he was no match for Archie when it came to speed and agility.

Unlike Horatio, Archie also happened to be one of those enviable individuals who could make an instantaneous transition from sleep to wakefulness. When it was their turn for middle watch Archie would slide out of his hammock and into his clothes before Horatio had managed to prize his eyelids open and coordinate his heavy limbs. He would then proceed to chatter like a lark while Horatio was still trying to figure out which way was up.

Not that he was vain, but Archie prided himself on the speed and agility that had saved his hide on a number of occasions. When ordered to take his glass aloft, he could ascend the rigging faster than any of the other young gentlemen aboard the frigate and more than a few of the topmen. Horatio remembered with a tinge of jealousy the first time he had had seen Archie going aloft. He ran up the ratlines two at a time, took the futtock shrouds without breaking his stride and swung himself gracefully into the top. Horatio by contrast clambered laboriously up the shrouds, desperately trying to conceal the fear that threatened to unman him at any moment, and suffered the ignominy of entering the top through the lubbers hole. Coming down Archie was faster still. He would launch himself out over the edge of the top and onto the backstay in a single fluid movement and descend from yard to deck at a speed that brought Horatio’s heart into his mouth. How he had any skin left on the palms of his hands was beyond Horatio, although he hadn’t failed to notice that Archie found it necessary to patch the seat of his breeches rather more frequently than the rest of the mess.

Archie positively revelled in skylarking in the rigging and on several occasions Horatio was sure he had caught him racing the captain of the maintop. Horatio had admonished Archie for such unseemly behaviour in an officer and a gentleman. Archie denied flat out that they had been racing, maintaining that it had merely been a coincidence that they ascended opposite sides of the main rigging at the very same moment and that it was hardly _his_ fault if the captain of the top went aloft like a lubber. Horatio scowled and tutted disapprovingly. There would be trouble if the men heard him talking like that. When provoked, Archie’s sharp tongue respected neither rank nor status and he could be equally dismissive of officers and men alike. Luckily however Archie’s tongue was silver as it was sharp and he was as adept at talking his way out of trouble as he was into it.

Archie continued to race the maintop-captain to the crosstrees despite Horatio’s disapproval and eventually agreement seemed to be reached among the larboard watch that the midshipman was indeed the faster.

There was only one thing that put a stop to Archie's lively antics on the frigate and that was books. Once Archie had a book in his hand he was lost to the world. Horatio suspected that nothing short of a full broadside from the combined French and Spanish fleet would rouse him. If even that. Although Horatio did not share Archie's tastes in literature, he could appreciate the absorption that came over him. Horatio could immerse himself in spherical geometry calculations for hours at a time, but even then he was never still and had an incorrigible tendency to fidget. By contrast, a deep languid calm descended over Archie as he read which utterly captivated Horatio.

Oblivious to the raucous tumult of the cramped gunroom Archie would fold himself up into an impossibly small heap in the far corner, legs pulled up to his chest, book resting on his knees. With his log tables neglected in front of him Horatio would watch in fascination as a panoply of expressions flickered across Archie’s face. Sometimes he would frown and bite furiously at his bottom lip. Other times his brows would crease together in an expression of such heart rending concern that it made Horatio’s chest tighten. Sometimes one corner of his mouth would rise slowly into a wicked smirk. Other times a broad bright smile would spread across his face and he would laugh quietly to himself. Horatio thought Archie’s smile was like a flash of sunlight in the eternal twilight of the gunroom, and then he thought himself foolish for thinking such a thing.

If Archie was in more expansive mood he would stretch out his legs, leaning back against the bulkhead with one arm crooked around his head. Horatio noticed that, in this position, Archie had a tendency to stroke the smooth skin at the side of his neck with the fingers of the arm pillowing his head. Horatio could almost feel the smooth warmth of Archie's skin under his own fingers and ached to press his lips to the spot so carelessly caressed. Other times Archie's free hand would be employed with one of the long strands of hair that invariably escaped from his queue, rich tawny gold twining through his fingers. As he pulled the bright strand taut Horatio felt a corresponding tightness tugging upwards from his lap that caused him to squirm in his seat.

Sometimes Archie would stop reading, look up and gaze unseeing into the middle distance, lost in thought. Horatio loved to watch him in these unguarded moments and on more than one occasion had found himself staring, captivated by Archie as Archie himself sat gazing out at who knows what. Of course as soon as Horatio realised he was gawping moonily at his shipmate in the middle of the crowded gunroom he would clear is throat noisily and make a show of bending all his attention to whatever mathematical or navigational texts happened to be scattered across the table in front of him.

At other times Horatio would look up from his calculations and find Archie staring straight at him with a look on his face that must surely contravene the twenty ninth Article of War. On such occasions Horatio would flush scarlet to the ears, grit his teeth and stare determinedly at his suddenly meaningless calculations.

Currently Archie was absorbed in a small thick volume of verse given to him by the captain while he had been consigned to the sick list with a nasty dose of pyrexia with catarrhal affection. Horatio himself had almost required the ministrations of the surgeon on discovering that the awe inspiring and frankly terrifying Captain Sir Edward Pellew had deigned to lend a book from his own personal library to a lowly midshipman. Not that there was anything remotely lowly about Archie.

Horatio liked to take an interest in things that interested Archie and always made a point of inquiring about his reading material, even if his mind did tend to drift back to calculus as Archie waxed lyrical about this poet or that playwright. This time however Archie had been unusually coy about the book the captain had lent him.

"Oh it’s a chap called Donne," Archie had replied airily when Horatio had enquired about the volume. Horatio had expected to hear considerably more about Mr Donne but Archie had not been forthcoming. Indeed if Horatio had not known Archie better he might have thought he looked somewhat guilty and was that a slight blush colouring Archie's face as he bent his head back to the mysterious volume? Horatio shook his head and returned to his navigation, concluding he must have been mistaken. Surely the formidable Captain Sir Edward Pellew did not keep books in his library that could induce a midshipman as brazen as Archie to blush like a maiden.

That had been a fortnight ago and Archie had been reading the book compulsively ever since. He was tucked into his usual corner with his precious tome, while Horatio sat at the table nearby with his log books and slate. Looking up to ponder some particularly intractable calculation he found Archie staring straight at him, bright eyes glittering and a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Archie?"

Archie continued to smile but didn't respond.

"Archie!"

"Hmn? What? Oh sorry Horatio, did you say something?"

"Archie you were miles away!"

"Oh. Yes. Yes I was. Miles away."

Archie’s face flushed slightly and Horatio suddenly noticed that the gunroom had become uncomfortably warm.

"What on earth are you reading about?" Horatio was beginning got get a little exasperated with that damn book and would have quite happily “lost” it over the side had it not been the property of their illustrious captain.

"America.” Archie’s cheeks were still pink but there was a devilish smirk playing across his lips. “You were right Horatio, I _was_ miles away!"

"America? You're reading about the colonial war?" Archie had eclectic interests, but he tended not to spend his precious free time below reading treatises on colonial politics.

"Not war Horatio. Roving. Exploration."

"Oh. I see." Horatio didn’t see, but he was intensely curious now. "The topography of the colonies then?"

"New found lands Horatio! I am roving new found lands."

Archie had set the book aside and was leaning forward towards the table where Horatio was sitting.

Horatio felt his throat tighten. "Really?" His voice came out as a rough growl.

"And will you be so good as to share Mr Donne’s discoveries?”

"Oh yes, Horatio." Archie had pulled his bench forward, his eyes where burning brightly in the lamplight and he was so close that Horatio could feel his warm breath on his cheek. "And one day I will do more than that. One day you will be my kingdome.”

Archie reached out his hand under the table and drew one finger quickly and lightly down Horatio’s long thigh to his knee. Then before Horatio could recover his wits, Archie laughed brightly, pushed his bench back to the bulkhead with a loud scrape and resumed reading. The burning smile didn’t leave his face.

Horatio sat bewildered. He had no idea what Archie was talking about, first colonies then kingdoms, but he could not deny that if Archie’s desire was to open new found lands then he would be more than willing to follow.


End file.
